Saturday, November 01, 2008

If at First......

Yesterday afternoon was an exercise in frustration. The piece was sewn up in the back, but something was not quite right: the flesh colored embroidered piece on a the top right should have wrapped around a the top a bit more. (See yesterday's post.) So I cut the stitches I had just sewn on the back of the heart, and was going to just try to reposition the embroidery around the form, then I realized I would only be SURE it would work if I took apart the form (layers of batting sewn around foam core), shaved a bit off the foam core, then reassembled the form. (Also took this opportunity to photograph the back, which I had forgotten to do when completed.)So that's what I did: resewed the form, repositioned and pinned the embroidery so all the edges were exactly where I wanted them, and resewed the embroidery.Today we attach.

2 Comments:

This is one of those synesthetically pleasing pieces...I want to hold it...and I am sure that a few people who see it will sneak a touch (much to your dismay...at least it is not a hair embroidery on white!).

With that in mind: I hope it is not under glass and is framed like the original mock-up.(?)

Thanks for your comment.... I was working towards that effect. I am really trying to focus on maximum visual seduction these days.

I will see about the glass.... there are practical issues (velvet gathers dust & fibers like nothing else), but I also really love the curved glass relic/victorian thing, particularly with the body part/specimen aspect of the content.

Denying contact with something that you really want to touch elevates the sewing process as well, our common experience with fiber & embroidery being quilts, tea towels, etc. It's a real issue for those who work in fiber that the respect level, as manifested through touching, is different than it is for other works of art. ("I just couldn't help touching the Pollock....")

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About Me

Kate Kretz attended The Sorbonne in Paris, earned her BFA from SUNY Binghamton, and her MFA from The University of Georgia. She was BFA Director and an Associate Professor of Art at FIU in Miami for ten years. She currently works in her studio and gives lectures and workshops at various universities.